Rebel Alliance

Rebel Alliance is a random encounter in Tales from the Tiers.

Transcript
As you make your way along one of the wide dirt roads that winds through the forests of old Apex, the mountains loom above you on every side, and only the Mountain Spire, jutting skyward from the center of the broken realm, provides a consistent landmark by which to navigate. Cresting a hill, you make out a flash of light on bronze through the trees accompanied by the movement of several individuals. That much bronze, you realize, must indicate a group of Oathbreakers, and they seem to be just around the next bend in the road... Avoid them. Approach quietly. Approach openly. Deciding to avoid a possible confrontation with an Oathbreaker patrol, you move off of the road and into the forest, quietly pushing through the brush and routing around the occupied bend. The song of insects drones incessantly, only occasionally punctuated by the rustling of some woodland animal passing by unseen. After about an hour of woodland travel you break free again onto the dusty road and continue towards your destination. Keeping low and using the thick foliage as cover, you move carefully through the underbrush marking the concave bend in the road. The far side of the bend slowly resolves in your view, revealing not one patrol of warriors, but two. You decide to continue along the road. You are a Fatebinder of Tunon, after all, a representative of the Overlord, and you will not sully your authority by skulking through the forest. As you round the bend, you find yourself looking at not one patrol of warriors, but two. Keeping low and using the thick foliage as cover, you move carefully through the underbrush marking the concave bend in the road. The far side of the bend slowly resolves in your view, revealing not one patrol of warriors, but two. Spy on them. Speak with them. Attack! Attempt to leave. You clear your throat and step forward to address the motley soldiers... Taking the initiative, you leap towards the soldiers as they bring up blades and shields to meet your charge... You raise your hands - empty with palms out - to show you mean no harm to the bronze-clad fighters and begin to back slowly from them. They glance quickly to one another, and one of the largest turns his attention fully to you, taking a step towards you as his hand goes to the grip of his weapon. His companions draw their own weapons of bright, well-polished bronze... Moving with extreme care, you close to within listening distance of the two groups. As you eavesdrop on them, it becomes immediately clear that the Vendrien Guard hope to recruit the mercenaries, explaining to them in no uncertain terms that if the Citadel of Vendrien Well falls, Kyros' Edict will slay every Tiersmen confined within the valley. "Such is the way of the Overlord," the Oathbreaker tells the mercenary. "His troops die or we all die. There's no middle road, no parley, and no quarter." Expose the lie. Sneak away. Like a shadow, you slip away unobserved. You make your way through the forest, quietly pushing through the brush and routing around the occupied bend. The chatter of the Tiersmen fades into the distance, and after about an hour of travel you return to the dusty road. You wipe the sweat from your brow and continue towards your destination. You step forward, revealing yourself from the brush, sending the Tiersmen scrambling to ready a bristling bronze wall of spears, swords, and shields. You point at the Guardsman, calling out his self-serving lie. The mercenaries have little to gain from working with the Vendrien Guard and everything to lose: the Edict of Execution shall slay those in the valley only if the Citadel does NOT fall to Kyros' forces. You should know, you tell them. The Edict was issued by your lips. Even as the Vendrien Guardsmen howl for your head and advance on you with weapons drawn, the mercenaries holster their arms and withdraw into the woods. You decide to continue along the road. You are a Fatebinder of Tunon, after all, a representative of the Overlord, and you will not sully your authority by skulking through the forest. As you round the bend, you find yourself looking at not one patrol of warriors, but two. Keeping low and using the thick foliage as cover, you move carefully through the underbrush marking the concave bend in the road. The far side of the bend slowly resolves in your view, revealing not one patrol of warriors, but two. Apex heraldry and heavy bronze scale marks the first group as members of the Vendrien Guard. The other warriors, however, wear rings of bronze set in heavy cured leather, a sigil on their tabard styled in the likeness of the Bane. You recognize them from your time as Governor of Lethian's Crossing: these are members of the Bronze Brotherhood, brutal mercenaries out of Haven. Apex heraldry and heavy bronze scale marks the first group as members of the Vendrien Guard. The other warriors, however, wear rings of bronze set in heavy cured leather, a sigil on their tabard styled in the likeness of the Bane. You have heard that a group of brutal mercenaries out of Haven adopt similar heraldry. Apex heraldry and heavy bronze scale marks the first group as members of the Vendrien Guard. The other warriors, however, wear rings of bronze set in heavy cured leather, a sigil on their tabard catches your attention, but as you lean forward for a closer look, a branch under your foot shifts and snaps, splitting the warm air with a resounding crack. The eyes of every bronze-clad warrior turn on you... Apex heraldry and heavy bronze scale marks the first group as members of the Vendrien Guard. The other warriors, however, wear rings of bronze set in heavy cured leather, a sigil on their tabard styled in the likeness of the Bane. You recognize them from your time as Governor of Lethian's Crossing: these are members of the Bronze Brotherhood, brutal mercenaries out of Haven. Apex heraldry and heavy bronze scale marks the first group as members of the Vendrien Guard. The other warriors, however, wear rings of bronze set in heavy cured leather, a sigil on their tabard styled in the likeness of the Bane. You have heard that a group of brutal mercenaries out of Haven adopt similar heraldry. Threaten the Tiersmen. Convince the mercenaries to leave. [500 rings| Bribe the mercenaries. The oathbreakers and mercenaries turn on you as one, muscles tensing all about, hands inching towards weapons. The lead oathbreaker's mouth falls agape as she recognizes you. You speak with easy evenness, reminding those present that the Overlord's rule is one of law. So long as one hasn't broken the law, by, say, taking up arms against a representative of said law, one has little to fear from Kyros. Conversely, an individual could always discard the Overlord's goodwill, instead aligning with a doomed rebellion for a foreign kingdom. It truly is a difficult choice, between living under the Overlord's banner or dying in defiance of it. The mercenaries back away from the oathbreakers, and their leader's eyes widen at the abandonment. She shouts out for attack, and the Vendrien Guard charge... The Overlord rules the Tiers, you shout, your voice drowning out the oathbreaker captain's, and Tunon shows no mercy to those who raise arms against Kyros. Are these mercenaries, you ask, truly so devoted to the cause of fallen Apex as to throw in with these doomed, ragtag insurgents? The sellswords share furtive glances before backing away from the oathbreakers and towards the trees. The oathbreaker captain spits in disgust and cries out for your head. The Vendrien Guard charge... Few crimes earn the enmity of the Court of Fatebinders, you state, than the death of one of their own. Those involved can expect to be hunted to the shores of the Tiers and beyond. One of the mercenaries laughs. Who would bring charges against him, if all witnesses to the crime have expired? Oathbreakers and mercenaries alike draw their weapons, advancing hungrily upon you... These filthy rebels dare threaten a representative of Tunon the Adjudicator? You shout the question at them, and their eyes narrow in anger. Oathbreaker and mercenary alike draw their weapons, eager to spill northern blood... You toss a cord of five bronze rings towards the nearest mercenary and he swipes it out of the air. He hefts it a couple of times, grinning. "Not my going rate... but enough to avoid whatever trouble these fools seem intent on." He gestures his warriors towards the woods. The Vendrien Guard captain spits in disgust and then cries out for your corrupt hands. The oathbreakers advance... Continue... Continue... Continue... Continue... Continue... Continue... "Queenslayer!" Her blade is immediately freed from its sheath. "Mouthpiece of Kyros!" She thrusts the sword into the air. "Tiersmen, rally! This cur would take Vendrien's Well and consign us all to death! Run the whore-mouth through!" "The Fatebinder." She slides her weapon from its sheath and holds it aloft. "Tiersmen, this is the tyrant who would take our lands from us. Who would claim the citadel. Who would damn us all to death." She lowers the blade's point towards you. "I know none more deserving of death than this one." Continue...